Beehive.



L. A. ASPINWALL.

BBBHIVE.

APPLICATION nLnn JUNE 1, 1911.

1 ,OO--1,335, 1 Patented Sept. 26, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

L. A. ASPIN WALL.

BBBHIVB.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 1, 1911.

1,004,335, Patented Sept. 26, 1911.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2. H01

COLUMBIA PLANOflfiAPM CO" WASHINGTON. B. I.

UNITED STA'.l l l S PATENT OFFICE.

LEWIS AUGUSTUS ASPINWALL, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNOR TO ASPINWALLMANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF JACKSON, MICHIGAN, A CORPORATION OF MICHIGAN.

BEEHIVE.

Serial No. 630,634.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, Lnwrs AUGUSTUS As- PINWALL, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Jackson, in the county of Jackson and State ofMichigan, have invented an Improvement in Beehives, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My present invention is designed as an improvement upon the devicesshown and described in Letters Patent granted to me June 23, 1908, andrespectively numbered 891,583, 891,584 and 891,585, with the object ofincreasing the useful life, strength and convenience of the beehive andimproving the manner in'which certain parts are connected and heldthereto and together as essential parts of the beehive structure. Inthese several Letters Patent certain parts were not readily removableand certain other parts were not readily removable and sepa rable andvaluable time was unnecessarily consumed in disassembling the parts,adding thereto and re-connecting the same. H

In carrying out my invention, I employ U-shaped metal members to whichboth series of longitudinal rails and metal stays are securely fastened,and an alighting-board that is quickly put in place and supported by thesaid metal members and one lower rail, a construction of comb and broodframes and slatted or dummy-frames which ini creases the useful area forthe bees and oband supers all agree in end width, the intermediatespaces for bee movements through the hive can be increased and suchspaces are directly between said parts and the spaces between the supersdirectly above the spaces between the comb and the dummyframes; thus notonly more standing room is afforded the bees, but greater facilitywithin and through the hive. Where a superposed series of sectionholders are employed these conditions also maintain. I

Patented Sept. 26, 1911.

connecting and holding the section holders together, all of which ishereinafter more particularly described.

In the drawings Figure l is a perspective View of the frame or rack forreceiving the comb-frames, the closing boards, etc. Fig. 2 is a brokenfront elevation representing the rack or holder with the comb frames,supers, etc., in position. Fi 3 is a vertical cross section at thedotted l1ne w, w, of Fig.

2. Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are sectional plans of 1 the same parts for thepurpose of illustrating the alighting-board in its relation to itssupports and the manner of connecting and removing the same therefrom.Fig. 7

is an elevation of the means along either end of the supers forconnecting them securely together and whlch means are extensible toinclude more or less section holders together,

and Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section and v plan of the parts shown inFig. 7.

Referring particularly to the perspective View Fig. 1, the U-shapedmetal members are shown as each composed of the upright or verticalparts a located at the corners of the frame and the horizontal or baseparts or bars a two of these are employed in each hive. Z) Z) are thelongitudinal up per rails and c c the longitudinal lower rails. Theupper rails come outside of the metal corner members a and are securedthereto by the bolts 2, while the lower longitudinal rails or. members a0 come inside the upright corner members a and are secured thereto bythe bolts 3. Extending across between the longitudinal lower rails 0 care the bottom boards a in series, shiplapped at their alined edges andwith the respective ends of the same with tongues received in thegrooves cl (1 made in the inner faces of the rails 0 c stays whichextend across between the upper ends or adjacent to the upper ends ofthe upright corner metal members a for the f f are metal purpose ofholding the same together and 7 yet spacing the same apart, and theseare about on a line with the lower edges of the rails 12 6 It representsthe comb or broodframe and 0 the intermediate slatted or dummy-frames;the frames h and o alternating through the hive. These latter slatted ordummy-frames like the structure shown and described in my Patent No.891,584 are each formed of top and bottom bars, end bars and slats; thetop bars being of sufficient length to rest over the upper rails Z) sothat these frames 0 are supported from the rails 6 N. The comb orbrood-frames h are constructed very similar to the same frames shown anddescribed in the aforesaid patent to myself, except in one particular.These frames 71, are each provided with a top bar 4, vertical end pieces5, a bottom strip 6 and slats 7, and the top bars 4 are sufiicientlylong to substantially agree with the top bars of the dummyframes 0 andextend over, rest upon and be supported by the upper rails Z) If. Theseframes h, however, differ from the frames of my aforesaid patent inbeing provided with wide slats or uprights h which come at opposite endsof the brood-combs m, for the reason that experience has shown thatwhere there is not suflicient storage room in the brood-combs, smallbits of comb are frequently made in each space nearest or adjacent tothe brood-combs. Therefore to prevent this tendency on the part of thebees, I have provided the wider slats h which close off at least the onespace heretofore employed by me next to the broodcomb and obviate thebee tendency to form small bits of coinb,as it were,com-

. pelling the bees to center their energies on the formation of comb inthe supers.

As in my aforesaid patents, I employ closing-boards i on the oppositeends of the series of comb or brood-frames and slatted or dummy frames.These closing boards are held in position by the locking bar 2' at oneend which is formed with round ends adjustable in the openings in therails b b and between which locking-bar there is a wedge 2' the seriesof frames h and 0 at the other ends resting against the end of the frameor rack composing the hive. As in said patents, at the lower edges ofthe closing-boards I employ closing strips or pieces 76 70 and metalbuttons 0 76 connected by screws to the outer faces of theclosing-boards and coming over the closing strips to hold the same inposition.

As in my aforesaid patents, I employ an alighting-board but thealighting-board of the present invention is quite different from thatshown in the aforesaid patents. The alighting-board of said patents isconnected by means of bolts with nuts which pass through one of thelower rails. These bolts and nuts would rust and often be difiicult todisconnect and remove, so that after a lapse of time it was not onlydifficult to get at and remove these alighting-boards but considerabletime was wastefully consumed. The alighting-board Z of my presentinvention is quickly applied and is quickly removed and should there beany rust, a blow tions forming aws. In the bracket 11 there is a longslot 13 and in the bracket 12 there is a short slot 14. These slots areopenended and the circular jaws of the construction are provided forstrength.

F 4 represents the alighting-board in position in which the outsideedges of the upright corner metal members a are received in the slots13, 14, and the alighting board is held by these open endedparallel-sided slots in an inclined position in which the forward edgecomes against the surface of the lower rail 0. Fig. 5 represents aposition in which this alighting-board has been moved fully to the righthand side preliminary to removing it from the hive. After this movementthe right hand end of the alight-ing-board is drawn forward and theboard moved to the left hand past the v position in Fig. 6, until free.To attach the same to the hive the reverse action is employed; first theposition of Fig. 6, then the position Fig. 5, and a movement to theleft, Fig. 4, will bring the parts into the relation there shown.

In my patent aforesaid No. 891,585, I have shown supers withintermediate or intervening slatted frames and tie-rods running throughprojecting closing-boards to hold the same together. In this patent itwill be noticed that the section holders are substantially the samewidth as the comb or brood-fral'nes and that the slatted frames aresubstantially the same width as the .slatted or dummy-frames between thecombframes. In. this device the freedom of the bees moving in the hivesis restricted.

In the device of my present invention, the brood-frames h and theslatted ordummyframes 0 are of the same width. This con sequently makesit possible for me to double up the supers, or in other words, to useadditional section holders. This, of course, increases the available beespace in the wider slatted or dummy-frames.

In my present invention I prefer to employ the section honey boxes andthe frames or holders therefor shown and described in my application forLetters Patent filed April 3, 1911, Number 618,564, and duly allowed May5, 1911, for the reason that these employ my improved comb foundationand the frames at the ends thereof are all of the same width and of awidth which corre sponds with the comb-frames and dummyframes and theupper or lower members of which are narrower than the end members;consequently the spaces between the comb or brood frames'and the slattedor dummyframes agree in parallel vertical. planes with the spacesbetween the sections, consequently there is free access for the bees onthe comb and dummy-frames up into the supers, and where a second tier ofsupers are'placed or superimposed on top of the first or lower tier ofsupers these same advantageous spaces are also employed in the samevertical planes. These sections r as shown, are each composed of endmembers 8 and top aid bottom members 9 and 10 that are narrower; 1'representing the comb foundation in these supers.

I have shown and advantageously employ in connection with the supers theend closing-boards o and the center or intermediate closing-boards o andthese boards are each preferably of half the thickness of the comb anddummy-frames so that when in position, the section holders containingthe sections are divided into two groups for connection by my improvedclasp fastener. Each of these clasp fasteners comprises a bar 8 with aT-head s and a bar t with a T'-head or end i. These bars overlap at thecenter, one of them being provided with an eccentric lever a connectedby a bolt stud 15 and the bar If is provided with spaced slotted holes16 and surface-bearing lugs 17. This construction is particularly shownin Figs. 7 and 8 in which it will appear that the end and intermediateclosing-boards are longer than the section holders, and from Fig. 3 itwill appear that they are about as long as the top members of the comband dummyframes, and these end closing-boards and intermediateclosing-boards are cut through at the ends and recessed on the backs;the parts out through receiving the ends of the bars 8 and 't and therecesses or grooves on the back receiving the T-heads; consequently theT-heads of said bars are given a firm seat and when the bars areconnected as shown in Figs 2, 7 and 8, tension will be applied byswinging the eccentric lever u so as to bring the ends of the superframes tightly together, and secured by a check nut.

By the use of the double supers hereinbefore described, without eitherslatted or plain separators, I am enabled to double the capacity forhoney sections, that is to say, it 1s usual to employ thirty-fivesections and by my present improvement I am enabled to employ seventysections in the first instance, which are placed upon the hive,'and thisdoubles the storage capacity and at the same time also entirelyeliminates the tendency of the bees to swarm. Furthermore, by tieringthe supers, or in other words, placing a superposed series of sections,one hundred and forty sections may be placed upon the hive. It will alsobe observed that ample standing room is afforded the bees by theincreased comb surface which is also a work ing surface, and thesections, in lieu of separators, are arranged above the slatted frames,affording spaces which are in alinement with those below, that is, inthe hive body. This perfect alinement I have found to be a great factorin producing sections of honey combs which are even in thickness andwith level or smooth surfaces without the use of separators. The perfectalinementaffords equal assage-ways for the upward movement anddistribution of warmth above, which is essential in maintaining uniformcomb building. Furthermore, the supers being arranged double may bereversed at pleasure either when tiering or when the sections areone-half or two-thirds completed. This reversal brings the central combsto the outer sides. The inside or center of the hive being the warmestthe comb building naturally progresses more rapidly there than at thetwo outer sides where there is less warmth, and by reversing or turningthe supers around, the sections with comb building least advanced arebrought over the central or warmest locality where the work is carriedon more rapidly, resulting in completed sections throughout the supersin about an equal period of time.

\Vhile perfect alinement is advantageous and is productive of anincreased product of honey in a given space of time, I do not limitmyself to this perfect alinement.

The advantages to be derived from supers arranged in pairs arethree-fold, namely, the elimination of separators, the control ofswarming of the bees and the uniform completion of sections on bothsides of the supers. This is accomplished as generally hereinbeforestated, by reversing the supers so as to place the outer sides at thecenter and the centers at the outer sides and the outer sides beingbrought to the center where the temperature of warmth of the colony isthe highest.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a beehive the combination with suitable upright corner members, ofan alighting-board, devices secured to the opposite ends of thealighting-board and adapted for a removable connection to said cornermembers and for support therefrom.

2. In a beehive the combination with upright corner metal members, of analightingboard, brackets similar in construction but reversed inposition secured thereto and provided with slotted members or jaws whichare adapted to engage progressively with the said upright corner metalmembers in connecting the alightingboard therewith for support.

3. In a beehive the combination with upright corner metal members, of analightingboard, brackets similar in construction but reversed inposition secured thereto and provided with slotted members or jaws, theslot &

in one of which is longer than the slot in the other, which are adaptedto engage progressively with the said upright corner metal members inconnecting the alightingboard therewith for support.

In a beehive the combination with a suitable frame structure, of aseries of comb or brood frames each comprising a top-bar, bottom strip,vertical end pieces, wide slats or uprights adapted to come at the edgesof the brood comb and narrower slats between the wide slats and thevertical end pieces.

5. In a beehive the combination with a suitable frame structure andseries of comb or brood frames suspended therein, of supers arranged inat least two similar connected series, the meeting edges of the supersbeing approximately over the center of the hive, thus adapting thesupers to be reversed or turned around so that the central portions arebrought at the ends and the ends at the center, substantially as hereinshown and described.

6. In a beehive the combination with a suitable supporting framestructure, of series of comb or brood frames and intermediate series ofslatted or dummy-frames, the slatted frames for the purpose ofincreasing bee space in the hive being equal in width with the combframes.

7. In a beehive the combination with a suitable supporting framestructure, of series of comb or brood frames and intermediate series ofslatted or dummy-frames, the slatted frames for the purpose ofincreasing bee space in the hive being equal in width with the combframes, and series of section holders adapted to be mounted upon thecomb and slatted frames of the hive and all of which section holders arealike and agree in width with the width of the slatted frames andcombframes so that corresisting of suitable bars in pairs having T head endsadapted to pass through said notches and into said recesses, one of saidbars having series of slotted holes and bearing lugs and the other ofsaid bars provided with an eccentric lever, the edge of which is adaptedto bear upon one of the bearing lugs of the companion bar, wherebytension may be applied to the fastening devices for the series ofsection holders and said series held securely by a check-nut as a unit.A

10. In a beehive the combination with a series of section holders andend inclosing boards, of fastening devices for said holders eachconsisting of a pair of bars one of which has a series of slotted holesand bearing lugs and the other an eccentric lever,

the edge of which is adapted to bear upon one of the lugs of the otherbar whereby tension may be applied in connecting the section holders, anut for securing the same and means at the ends of such bars for engaging the ends of the inclosing boards.

Signed by me this 27th day of May 1911.

LEWIS AUGUSTUS ASPINWALL, lVitnesses:

C. G. ROWLEY, GEO. N. VVH'ITNEY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

